Chelsea's hopes of sealing direct qualification for the Champions League round of 16 took a hit on Tuesday night, as they were held to a disappointing 2-2 draw by Qarabag in Baku, much to the surprise of everyone, even in the pre-game review, Chelsea were expected to enjoy an easy 3-1 victory, but unfortunately for the Blues fans, it wasn't meant to be.
Softfootball understands that things went downhill for Enzo Maresca's side after a promising start that saw Chelsea take the lead following some brilliant play from Brazilian youngster Estevao however, Marko Jankovic's penalty put the hosts ahead in the first half after cancelling that Estevao lead with Leandro Andrade's equaliser.
The young Brazilian's early goal seemed to have set Chelsea on course for a routine win after their long 2,500-mile trip to Azerbaijan. But football, as it often reminds us, doesn't follow the script however, his performance was good enough to earn him the man of the match award, as revealed by UEFA via their official X account.